Kormok
"You threaten me with death? I have faced death and cut it down with my sword! I am the Wraithverge, and I will not taste defeat!" -Kormok Wraithverge, son of Grolmok Appearance This orc is young, though his scars and worry-lines suggest a creature much older. His eyes are a fiery scarlet red color, and his hair is a dark purple, braided and swept back from his face. A short beard grows from his chin and chops, kept neat and trim. Most of his equipment shows signs of heavy damage and repeated repair, though it remains sturdy in use. A simple silver ring with an emerald hangs from a steel bolt affixed to the orc's breastplate, worn like a war medal. Though usually clad in articulated plate armor, Kormok will occasionally appear in common clothes, where his other features become more visible. His left arm is etched with tattoos from hand to shoulder, the patterns inked by a practiced artist and appearing to contain swirling runic fragments. The orc's shoulders and back are covered with deep scarring, evidence of brutal encounters with a whip some time in his past. His right hand is always gloved to prevent revulsion at the twisted scarring on his palm, caused by grasping a flaming brand. In combat, Kormok tends to lead with his right shoulder and carries his weight low. Most of his combat maneuvers are swift, darting strikes with blade or axe, interspersed with the occasional heavy blow from shield or sword hilt. The style bears hallmarks of human swordsmanship mixed with orcish and elvish bladework, suggesting many different combat instructors. History Kormok was raised in the interment camps for most of his young life. His youth was fouled by whippings from various interment officers, intent on beating the savagery out of the orcish prisoners. Kormok never really knew his mother, Kormala, who died to the hands of overzealous humans during the imprisoning of the remaining orcs after the Second War. Kormok was raised almost entirely by his father, Grolmok, and several of his companions from the war. Through these teachers, Kormok learned self-sufficiency, construction, and improvisation. All of the older orcs had been laborers save one, and thus Kormok learned many skills that might not seem practical in the modern Horde. Grolmok also thought it of utter importance to remember the identity of his people, and thus had gathered over a hundred tales and songs of the orcs from old times, teaching them to Kormok at a young age. When the time came for the orcs to leave for Kalimdor, Kormok and his father left with Thrall to aid in the restoration of their people's heritage. Unfortunately, fate had a different path in mind, and Kormok's father was slain at the Battle of Hyjal at the end of the war. Kormok, only of fourteen years of age, distraught and without guidance, was abandoned by the warriors who had no thought or desire to look after a stray whelp. When the armies returned to establish the nation of Durotar and the city of Orgrimmar, Kormok packed what little belongings he had and set off into the wilderness to make his own way. Life was hard, and the scars of his tribulations remain on him still. The spirits must have smiled on the young orc, for now he has risen to prominence fully five years after the end of the Third War, and was a mighty hunter for the Horde until more recent combat training that shifted his skills to that of the soldier. Military Accomplishments Kormok has always kept a standoffish relationship with most Horde military endeavors. He recognizes the need for the Warsong lumber operation, though he does not agree with their methods. The Defilers seem little more than a group of vengeful whelps to him, but the resources they contribute are too important to allow his personal feelings to get in the way. Above any others, Kormok feels a kinship to the Frostwolves, though he is not a member of their clan, and has fought on many occasions for the displaced orcs. For a long time, Kormok served as a field scout in Horde operations all across Azeroth. His duties were largely mercenary, so he was able to come and go as he pleased, for the most part. Only in the height of renewed conflict in Alterac Valley was he called for more serious duties as a sniper and special operative in service to the Frostwolf clan. Grudgingly (but without any verbal complaints), he allowed himself to be assigned to the cruel battlefield where many thousands had already lost their lives. During the battle, the field commander for the operation was gravely wounded and forced to withdraw. The Frostwolf forces were thrown into chaos, without direction or focus toward a particular goal. Angry and unwilling to accept defeat, Kormok stepped forward to rally those who would listen and led them to a resounding victory over the Stormpike dwarves. While his first command was not official, it earned him a promotion to Senior Sergeant of the Horde, and a hearty recommendation to a future campaign. Months passed, and Kormok eventually found himself requested for the very duties he performed on behalf of the Frostwolves - this time by the Defilers. Swallowing his objections, the hunter packed what he could and set off for this new battlefield. Several bloody weeks later, he emerged with new scars and an even more suspicious outlook on his Alliance counterparts. Since then, he had only fought skirmishes with Alliance troops, instead having duties to perform on behalf of the Argent Dawn and the Thrallmar Forward Command on Draenor. An outburst in Grommash Hold saw Kormok stripped of his military rank of Senior Sergeant. Any military work he did was volunteer, holding onto a tiny speck of hope that the Horde could remain something he truly believed in; this light fades daily as more and more failings became, in his eyes, the fault of the irredeemable elves. Through promises and oaths made to him by his clan's elves, he managed to overcome this prejudice and redouble his efforts in creating a unified, multicultural social and military force. Taming the Beast Within Kormok is {in}famous for his tempestuous demeanor; he will be calm and collected most of the time, and then fly into furious rages when he or his clanmates come under attack either physically or verbally. He rarely lashes out with more than bellowed challenges to "back up your words with steel", but seems to truly relish when individuals answer the challenge. When asked about his fury, he attributes it to a force he calls "the beast within". Kormok was once in touch with spirits that emulate their powers. As he understood it, they waxed and waned like lunar phases, and when all are at their height, he angered far more readily than usual. In the past, he has secluded himself in the wilderness during these times and meditated. Only once, he says, has he lost complete control to the beast within, and has since trained himself to discipline his mind. The ultimate expression of this discipline was when he abandoned the hunter's path, forsaking the wilderness for steel and blood. The Wraithverge In a mixture of experimentation and a desire for anonymity, Kormok spent much of his off-time in previous months training as a warrior under the name of his father, Grolmok. Most did not recognize him at all; the mask for which he had become known was absent, and though he despised being recognized only for its fierce countenance, he was able to enjoy the freedom to train as he saw fit without being hounded. Instead of potentially being recognized by combat trainers in orcish lands, he traveled east to Eversong and worked to help rid their lands of the Scourge threat. He declared himself an undead hunter to those who asked his profession, and gave his title as "the Wraithverge". His knowledge in combating the foul Scourge was far beyond what recruits would know, and this gave him a powerful edge against numerically superior components. He has since revealed his true identity publicly and no longer calls himself "Grolmok Wraithverge", and has mastered a blend of warrior arts that mixes combat maneuvers from orcish, elvish, and human martial traditions (the last being a gift from Undercity warmasters). The Chieftain As the sun began to set on the seventh year since Hyjal, Kormok had ascended to the rank of Chieftain of the Tears of Draenor. Though Elder Ruarc remains in the Tears in an advisory capacity, it is to this warrior that the clan now turns to lead them in the times to come. Kormok is still young, however, and realizes that his age will work against him when dealing with older leaders that think youth means inexperience. The shift in leadership has led Kormok to restructure the inner circle of the Tears of Draenor in order to maintain better discipline and keep him from being inundated with paperwork and requests for aid. While he wishes to keep the clan from seeming like it is preparing for war, he cannot help but suspect that is exactly what he will be forced to lead them into in time. Northrend: The Final Battle Kormok has finally been forced to lead his clan to where he has long dreamed that he would meet his end; the frozen wastes of Northrend, where the Scourge hold ultimate dominion. Haunted by spectres of fallen comrades and the ever-growing fear that his own father was "collected" to be a draftee into the Ebon Blade, Kormok spends more time in solitary meditation attempting to fight off his fears and anxieties than he does associating with his own clanmates on a friendly level. Nevertheless, Kormok and his clan have achieved great victories over the Scourge, and his training during his days as the Wraithverge have paid off a hundred times over. As an undead slayer, he is among the finest to be found, wielding the cleansed armaments of the Scourge into battle against the very creatures that forged them. The Argent Champion Schisms within the Horde have driven Kormok somewhat further from his fellow clans than previously, due almost entirely to the actions of the reckless Overlord Garrosh Hellscream. Pledging loyalty both to allied human clans and societies as well as the Argent Crusade, Kormok and his Tears continue fighting the true enemy while struggling to maintain a tenuous peace between the factions; it has thus far not been successful, and Kormok fears all will come crashing down before Arthas can be dealt the final blow by Highlord Fordring. Category:Orc Category:Horde category:Hunter Category:Tears of Draenor